THE BASICS
The Oklahoma State men’s and women’s cross country teams are set to open up their condensed season at home with the Cowboy Jamboree. This year’s Cowboys Jamboree will be the 82nd installment of the event, dating back to 1937. The race will be the first event at OSU’s newly constructed cross country course since the 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional. This season will be the 13th under head coach Dave Smith, who has produced three NCAA cross country championships and earned 10 Big 12 coach of the year honors in his time at Oklahoma State.
BACK FOR MORE
Although the fall cross country season was unaffected by NCAA cancellations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, for many of the distance runners in OSU’s program, their last competition was over a year ago. With 11 combined returning letter winners, Oklahoma State cross country is raring to return to the top of the Big 12. The Cowboys enter into the new season after a runner-up finish at the 2019 Big 12 Championships and a fifth-place finish in the NCAA Midwest Regional. The Cowgirls are a year removed from capturing their second-ever Big 12 title and finishing fourth as a team at the NCAA Midwest Regional. Such impressive team finishes for the women rested on the shoulders of two All‑American Cowgirls in Molly Born and Taylor Somers, who raced as individuals in the NCAA National Championships and crossed the finish line in 16th and 18th place, respectively.
LAST YEAR AT THE COWBOY JAMBOREE
During the construction of its state-of-the-art course from 2018-2019, Oklahoma State did not host the Cowboy Jamboree. At the last Cowboy Jamboree, in 2017, the Cowgirls finished fourth, headlined by Michelle Magnani, Molly Sughroe and Kaytlyn Larson, all of whom finished in the top 25 of the women’s 6K. In the men’s 8K, the Cowboys claimed the Cowboys Jamboree title for the eight-straight time, thanks in large part to an event win by Sylvester Barus and runner-up finish by Hassan Abdi.
FOLLOW THE MEET
Fans can follow the action live on Twitter by following @run4okstate for updates. Official results will be published on www.okstate.com, along with a recap of OSU’s day on the course.
MEET SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES CST)
The Cowboy Jamboree will take place at the OSU Cross Country Course.
- Men’s 8K: 8:30 a.m.
- Women’s 6K: 9:15 a.m.
FROM HEAD COACH DAVE SMITH
On team's overall excitement to compete on OSU's home course:
"We're really excited to run, just to get a race under our belts anywhere. We've been off since the middle of indoor season, so we're just chomping at the bit to get back. To run on our home course is just icing on the cake. We love this course; we think it's the best course in the world. It's good to have it back and to have teams from outside our region come and see it for themselves.
On preparing to compete after such a long time off as a result of COVID-19 cancellations:
"For a long time, it was just playing it as it comes. Asking, 'How do you prepare?' is like asking, 'How do you prepare for every contingency plan?' All we did was run like we always would and came in shape. The excitement of the athletes to do something other than train, which we've done for nine months now, is definitely there."
